In the automotive arts, it is common practice during the assembly process of a motor vehicle to pre-assemble the drive train (i.e., engine and transmission) and the condenser, radiator and fan module (CRFM) with respect to a powertrain cradle. The installation of the powertrain and CRFM is then accomplished by the powertrain cradle being aligned and lifted to the motor vehicle frame and then bolted thereto. Among other assembly operations which complete the installation, a pair of upper brackets are bolted to the tie bar and the CRFM.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 1A, the tie bar 10 is a frame member which spans laterally between the left and right sides of the uppermost portion of the front of the engine compartment of a motor vehicle. Conventionally, the tie bar 10 has an inner tie bar component 12 and an outer tie bar component 14 which are mutually interconnected, as for example by welding. The CRFM 16 is conventionally attached to the powertrain cradle by threaded fasteners at the lower CRFM (not visible in FIGS. 1 and 1A, but indicated at FIGS. 5A and 5B). At the top end 16T of the upper CRFM 16U, a pair of upper CRFM attachment brackets 18, 20, having a generally Z-shape, are secured at a first end 18a, 20a, respectively, to the tie bar 10, and at a second end 18b, 20b, respectively, to the top end 16T of the upper CRFM 16U. In this regard, and as best illustrated by FIG. 1A, an elastomeric grommet 22 is located in a hole 24 of each of the second ends 18b, 20b, and an upstanding stud 26, 28 of the CRFM 16 is received into a respective grommet 22.
What remains needed in the art is to somehow replace the upper brackets mounting modality with an improved attachment modality which provides assembly simplification, structural strength and design efficiency, and reduced vehicle weight.